Plug-tobacco.



E. G. WARNER.

PLUG TOBACCO.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 13. 1916.

l fimfiwo Patented Jan; 15,1918,

pnrrnn snares onnron- ETHEL G. WARNER, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OFCOLUMBIA, ASSIGNOR TO JONATHAN rnrnnson, or :enoonnvn, new roan.

PLUG-TOBACCO.

Lancers.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ETHEL G. citizen of the United States, and aresident of the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Plug-Tobacco, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention relates broadly to the art of tobacco and moreparticularly to plug tobacco.

The principal object of this invention is the production of a plug ofchewing tobacco, wherein the plug is divided into a plurality of smallportions easily detachable one from the other.

Another object of this invention is to provide a plug of chewing tobaccowith a plurality of grooves or cuts arranged to intersect in such mannerthat the plug is divided into small portions easily detachable one fromthe other.

A still further object of the present invention is the providing of aplug of chewing tobacco with a plurality of semi-detached units whichmay be easily broken from the main body of the plug.

A still further object of the present invention is a plug of chewingtobacco comprising a plurality of semi-detached units arranged to beeasily broken apart.

Other and further objects of this invention will in part be obvious andwill in part be pointed out hereinafter by reference to the accompanyingdrawings wherein like portions of the device are designated by likecharacters throughout the several figures of the drawings.

Figure l is a view showing a plug of tobacco in accordance with myinvention arranged in a suitable container and illustrating one unit ofthe plug detached. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a plug of tobaccoconstructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 3 is a transversesection through a plurality of attached units. Fig. 4 illustrates asection through a slightly modified form of my invention.

The ordinary plug of tobacco is composed of a plurality of superimposedfiller leaves treated with a suitable binder and compressed in the formof a bar rectangular in cross section. This bar is covered with asuitable wrapper leaf, and further compressed into a relatively densebar varying from substantially one inch to one-quarter WARNER, a

Specification of Letters Patent.

body of the bar either by Patented Jan. 15, T5918. Serial No. 90,912.

of an inch in thickness. The portions desired for use,.are detached fromthe main biting or cutting the desired amount, from the plug. Thepresent invention is designed more particularly to overcome thenecessity of either biting or cutting a suificient amount of tobaccofrom the plug, to form a chew of tobacco. The plug of tobacco inaccordance with my invention includes a plurality of superimposed fillerleaves which may be roughly pressed in the form of a bar rectangular incross section, and then this bar is crossed by a plurality ofintersecting cuts or grooves which extend nearly but not quite throughthe plug or bar. The wrapper may be placed upon the bar either before orafter the grooves are impressed in the plug. If the wrapper is placedover the plug subsequent to the forming of the grooves, it is necessarythat the plug be subjected to a second pressure in order to suitablysecure the wrapper to the filler. The portions of the filler leavesconnecting the various units together are highly compressed as comparedto the body of each individual unit and are therefore relatively brittleso that a slight bending back and forth of an individual unit serves tobreak these connecting portions, whereby the unit is completely detached from the body portion of the plug.

Referring now to the drawings, the plug A is composed of a plurality ofindividual units 1. These individual units are separated by valleys orgrooves 2 which are arranged in exact opposition to similar valleys orgrooves l on the opposite side of the plug. A connecting portion 5between the valleys, as has been previously stated, is relatively highlycompressed and thereby brittle so that a single unit 1 may be easilydetached by the fingers, without the necessity of biting or cutting witha knife. In the preferable form of my invention the grooves 2 are of anappreciable width and depth and the wrapper 6 is continuous therebyextend ing to the bottom of the grooves 2 and 4-.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated a modified form of my invention wherein theplug is crossed by a plurality of cuts 7 which extend from each surfaceof the plug substantially but not quite to the center plane of the plug.In this form of my invention the wrapper extends slightly into the cutbut not to the bottom thereof. Since the edges of the cut Elli] aresubstantially in contact the filler Will be substantially covered by thewrapper. and the evaporation of the moisture in the plug due to thebreaking of the wrapper at the cuts, issubstantially negligible; a

Realizing that my invention may be varied in its physical embodimentwithout departing from the scope of the invention, I desire it to beunderstood that the specific construction and form herein'shown is to betaken as illustrative and not in a limited sense.

Having thus described my invention What I claim is:

As an article of manufacture, a plug of tobacco comprising tobaccoleaves comsurfaces thereof, the grooves at one side of w the plug beingarranged in opposition to the grooves at the opposite side of the plug,said grooves extending but part Way through said plug to form connectingportions for said units in the median plane of the plug, the

connecting portions for the various units being compressed to a greaterdegree than the body of each individual unit."

' ETHEL G. WARNER.

Copies of this patent may beobtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

